(To see this post with pictures, click here.)

Last night when we arrived at Incheon Airport, we were greeted by CWC founder Joon Park, and administrator extraordinaire Joanne Kim. There was no doubt that they were excited to see us here in Korea - to have another chance to share their culture first-hand.

We left the airport and headed out to Yong-In, with a short stop at the Samsung Department Store in Bundang for a bite to eat.

The restaraunt of choice was Hanok, which served traditional Korean food. The meal, though spicy, was exactly what we were all craving. I wish I could articulate exactly what it was we ate, but I don’t honestly know what the dishes all were. All I can say is that they were delicious.

After dinner, we headed back onto the road to continue to Yong-In University where the CWC camp is being held. This is my second time here at this campus, and while I feel a sense of familiarity it has changed some in the last year. They’ve updated the rooms, added sitting areas, and made it look more modern. I feel comfortable staying here.

The weather is chilly, often hovering at -2C, but the skies are clear and blue. There is no greenery (it’s winter, after all), and I’ve only seen one bird.

To the left is the building where we teach.

The day ended yesterday with us crashing at 10pm Korea time, and me waking up at 10 am ... Vancouver time. (4 am in Korea.)

Our goal this camp is to teach with the theme of spies. To the right is Gumshoe Kallie, as she readies for our intro. In moments we will have parents and nearly 30 kids descending upon the campus eagerly wishing to learn all about the mystery genre.

This concludes Day One of our camp, and Day Two of our stay in Korea. To make sure you tune in tomorrow, I thought I’d leave you with an ... er, taste ... of what I had for lunch.

(To see this post with pictures, click here.)

This will be a short one, mostly just to say that we got here just fine. The flight was smooth, and Singapore Airlines was fantastic.

Where am I, you might ask? As the title would suggest, I am back in Korea. Once again, myself, Lee Fodi and, this time, Kallie George, are teaching a creative writing camp for CWC at the Yong-In University in Korea.

Why the strange title, you are wondering? Our theme this year is Spy Camp, and that will include many references to James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, and, yes, Ms Marple. Tune in all week for details on our exciting adventures ... however, for me my Vancouver mind is saying it’s 4:43 am on Tuesday while in Korea it is actually 9:43 pm Tuesday. This spy

On Friday evening a group of friends gathered at my home in anticipation for the most talked about new series of the past twelve months. While anticipation was in the air, we also had a tinge of worry that we’d hyped up our expectations to the point where they simply could not have been met. Even still, we gathered with offerings of pizza, chocolate brownies, carrot sticks and a gluten-free dessert. If the show was terrible, at least we’d have each other for comfort.

This brings to question, “What makes a good show?” I recall the review I read of Underworld III, where the movie was lambasted for daring have a storyline. Are we truly so jaded that we can only appreciate big explosions and monstrous special effects? I found my answer (though a day after the TV show) in my CWC class yesterday, during our discussion of the novel, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull.” We talked about how it is more than just a novel about a seagull, and what deeper message the author was trying to offer. At the end of the discussion I left my class with the question, “Was Jonathan alive and passing into Heaven ... or was he dead and passing into Life?”

This was exactly what Whedon offered all of us on that Friday night before. He made us look deeper within ourselves, at the question of, “What is a soul?” Are we just a bunch of meat sacks walking around with electrical impulses controlling our motions - or do we have a more existential existence that is unique and irreplaceable? If it is the former, then it should not matter whether we live or die. Our personality is just a matter of the right mixture of hormones and impulses firing randomly to external stimulus. But if it is the latter, if there is a deeper meaning to who we are, then we must ask that question: when does that begin? Is it only when we are adults and have life experience, or is it when we are teens and exploring a rapidly changing body, or when we are toddlers taking in those first experiences? Or does it go earlier, when we are even in the womb, before we can speak for ourselves?

Bravo, Whedon. This group of Whedonites were not disappointed, and thought that the show delivered exactly what TV is so desperately needing.

I have a new Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-McCann/35445846712

This July, kc dyer and myself are taking our chocolate and our chat and we're hitting the road! We're driving from July 7th until the 15th, visiting bookstores and libraries from Vancouver to Red Deer. So far, we have six places booked with three more tentatively considering.

Here's something I've designed to help you get excited about the trip as well!

We'd been preparing for the William's Lake Writer's Conference since October. Needless to say that Kari Winters, Diane Haynes and myself were pretty darn excited. We knew that there were three other authors from the Lower mainland coming, but we had never met them.



Prior to our flight, I checked out the CMA website to see what kind of plane we'd be flying in. A propeller 20-seater, it seemed. How fun! I suggested to Diane that we dress up, look as though we were from the 1940s and really have fun with this. Diane was game!

So we dressed up in our vintage suits and headed out to the airport. There we met Kari, and we were introduced to Max Tel. Although we knew there were two others there in our group, we had no idea what they looked like or what there names were. (To be honest, I still don't remember their names...) Diane and I approached the airline and asked if we could have our photo taken in front of the plane on the runway. We figured probably not, but it was worth a shot to ask. They said yes!

We sat around the airport chatting when we heard the preboard call. Kari and I stood up, and Diane told us to sit. "It'll be ages before we're called," she said. a few minutes later, Kari heard one of the attendants say into her radio, "I don't know. We're still waiting on four passengers." We counted our party ... one, two, three, four ... yep, we were holding up the plane!

So there we were, already holding up the plane, when the attendant asks, "Where's your camera for the photo?" I quickly hand her my camera and we get our shot taken!



(I should point out that I cropped out Kari and Max, only to keep the vintage 1940s look of the photo. To see the full photo and many more, visit this link.)

The plane trip was short and uneventful. Kari, Diane, Max and myself were all so excited that we chatted the entire flight.



When we landed, we were met by Amar, the amazing coordinator of the event, and her husband who carted us off to the hotel.

Each of us had our own hotel rooms in the Sandman Inn. Since we were flown out on Sunday afternoon and the conference wasn't until the next day, Diane Kari and myself all went for a walk. While all the shops were closed, we did find a beautiful park where we relaxed for a bit.





For now, these are all the photos I have and all I shall post on the conference until more photos arrive.

kc dyer and James McCann will be signing books at the Park Royal Indigo store this Friday afternoon (December 14th) from 2:30 to 5 pm, and at the Surrey Strawberry Hill Chapters store Sunday, December 16th, starting at 1:00 pm.

All are welcome!

We'll provide the chocolate, you provide the chat! Join young adult authors kc dyer and James McCann as they show their appreciation for readers with chocolates, refreshments and their latest novels.













kc dyer is the author of the historical fiction Eagle Glen Trilogy SEEDS OF TIME, SECRET OF LIGHT & SHADES OF RED, and now the contemporary novel MS ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK.
A former teacher, kc now spends her days surfing the time-space continuum for inspiring stories from both past and present for teens and adults.
http://kcdyer.blogspot.com

James McCann is the author of RANCOUR and now its exciting prequel PYRE. As a teen he read comics and played Dungeons & Dragons, both hobbies giving him the tools for storytelling. Now he's a voracious reader, author and creative writing instructor. His goal is to write books that engage even the most reluctant-reader.
http://www.jamesmccann.info

Join James McCann and kc dyer as they show their appreciation for teachers by sharing chocolate and an introduction to their latest novels.

All are welcome! Bring your favourite teacher!

3083 West Broadway, Vancouver - Thursday, August 23rd @ 7:30pm
3040 Edgemont Blvd, North Vancouver - Sunday, August 26th @ 2pm
Click here to see invite poster!

Hi all! Just a note to ask those of you who bought my books online to take a moment and write a review on the site from where you bought it!

Also, just a reminder that my new blog is here.

Just a reminder that my new blog is here:
http://jamesmccannauthor.blogspot.com/